2005 Bahrain Grand Prix
3 April |number = 734 |officialname = II Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix |circuit = Bahrain International Circuit |location = Sakhir, Bahrain |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.417 |laps = 57 |distance = 308.769 |pole = Fernando Alonso |polenation = ESP |poleteam = |poletime = 3:01.902 |fastestlap = 1:31.447 |fastestlapdriver = Pedro de la Rosa |fastestlapnation = ESP |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 43 |winner = Fernando Alonso |winnernation = ESP |winnerteam = |second = Jarno Trulli |secondteam = |secondnation = ITA |third = Kimi Räikkönen |thirdteam = |thirdnation = FIN}} The 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix, officially advertised as the II Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, was the third race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 3 April 2005.Robert Wilkins, 'Bahrain 2005: Two on the trot for Alonso.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 03/04/2005), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/51740/1/bahrain-2005-two-on-the-trot-for-alonso, (Accessed 03/01/2020) The race would see Fernando Alonso sweep to victory for , beating former teammate Jarno Trulli for the second race in succession. Qualifying, which continued to use the cumulative format introduced at the start of the season, would see Alonso claim pole position, edging out Michael Schumacher. Trulli would start from third ahead of the two s, while Ralf Schumacher in the second completed the top six. Race day saw the old track and air temperatures obliterated as the field assembled on the grid, with the air temp peaking at 42.5°C as the field lined up for the start. That may have been a factor in Christian Klien stalling on the formation lap, with the Austrian's pushed into the pits to be restarted. Fortunately there were no issues for the start proper, with Alonso streaking away to secure the lead ahead of Schumacher. Instead, the German ace came under attack from a fast starting Trulli, but managed to force the Italian back down to third, while Rubens Barrichello streaked into the top ten in the #2 . Alonso quickly established a lead at the head of the field, although there was some panic within the garage as the sister of Giancarlo Fisichella made a smokey exit on lap four. Yet, the Spaniard was not affected and continued to eek out his meagre lead, with Schumacher's #1 Ferrari remaining glued to his tail. That was, until the German ace made a rare mistake, spinning at turn nine when lining up a move on the Spaniard. He duly retired at the end of the lap as his team diagnosed a hydraulic failure on the scarlet Ferrari, ending a 58 Grand Prix streak of mechanical fortitude. With that Alonso was away, with Trulli and Mark Webber three seconds behind, while Ralf Schumacher moved into fourth. That was changed at the first round of stops as Alonso escaped further up the road, while Schumacher slipped behind Kimi Räikkönen. Prior to the second round of stops Webber would compromise his race with a spin at turn nine, which not only allowed Räikkönen and Schumacher to pass but also flat-spotted his tyres. He duly dropped out of the fight for the podium, with the order out front remaining unchanged through the second refuelling phase. Indeed, there would be no fighting at the front of the field for the rest of the race, leaving most of the interest in Webber's slow drift back towards Pedro de la Rosa and Rubens Barrichello. Their fight would last until de la Rosa finally claimed fifth on the penultimate lap, while Barrichello's pace collapsed in the closing stages, allowing Felipe Massa to challenge the #2 Ferrari. Out front, meanwhile, Alonso cruised through the final laps to claim his second straight victory, and the 100th for a engine. Trulli continued his strong form to claim second ahead of Räikkönen, with Schumacher, de la Rosa, Webber, Massa and David Coulthard claiming the rest of the points. Background Fernando Alonso moved to the top of the Championship after his victory in Malaysia, leaving Sepang with sixteen points to his name. Teammate Giancarlo Fisichella made way for him, dropping to second after his retirement, while Jarno Trulli had leapt into third after his podium finish. The Italian racer headed a quartet of drivers on eight points, with twelve drivers on the score sheet. In the Constructors Championship had continued to build their early advantage, moving onto 26 points after Alonso's triumph. , meanwhile, had streak straight into second after their maiden trip to the podium, a point ahead of in third. The Austrian rookies were themselves a point ahead of and , while were a further point behind as the final scorers. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Q1 Report Q2 Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Barrichello, Albers and Friesacher were all handed ten place grid penalties for changing their engines. Grid ** Klien was unable to start after stalling on the formation lap. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Villeneuve was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Klien was unable to start the race after an electrical failure on the grid. Milestones * made their 200th appearance as a constructor.'3. Bahrain 2005', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2005/bahrein.aspx, (Accessed 03/01/2020) * Third career victory for Fernando Alonso. * Twentieth win for as a constructor. ** This was also Renault's 100th victory as an engine supplier. * Pedro de la Rosa recorded the only fastest lap of his career. Standings Two wins and a second place for Fernando Alonso in the opening three rounds had left the Spaniard atop the Championship as the European season approached, leaving Bahrain with 26 points. That translated into a ten point advantage over second placed Jarno Trulli, with the Italian racer six ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in third. Behind, Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard completed the top five, level on nine, with fourteen drivers on the score board. In the Constructors Championship continued their early-season break away at the head of the pack, departing Sakhir on 36 points and a nine point advantage. had remained their closest challengers, while had moved into third, and just managed to stay within a race weekend's worth of points of the early leaders. Behind, moved into fourth ahead of , while slipped to sixth. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Bahrain Grand Prix Category:2005 Grands Prix Category:Grand Prix articles